That one in the ebay link looks a bit different than the one the guys are hacking...Does this one also require hacking?

Yes, but it may be very difficult to hack as I don't see a DTR signal pad to attach to. The DTR signal is avalibe on the CP2101 chip, but it's very difficult to solder anything to those small spaced chip pins. Doesn't mean it can't be used but you may not be able to get it to utilize the auto-reset function and will have to use a well timed manual push button reset on the arduino board prior/during uploading.

Lefty

first post here, just to mention i just succeeded to upload sketch using a cp2101 and a rbbb after having read about the 'well timed manual reset'

But it does "what it says on the tin", so no grounds to return it. Plus it would probably cost more in carriage costs than it cost to start with.

This happened to me one time. I simply wrote the seller with a picture of what I received, and pointed out that the picture differed from what was advertised. The seller posted a replacement of the right type.

eBay sellers usually dislike negative feedback. If what they sent does not match what was advertised then that is cause for negative feedback.

On the other hand if you ordered the wrong one because you did not inspect the photos, or there where no photos to inspect, then the fault is yours. On the bright side, you should not have spent more that a morning cup of coffee on the board.

I know that most people complain about the quality of parts from China, and they are right. However, for the savings, I am usually willing to put up with the lower quality to save some money. I do this as a hobby, I enjoy playing with these things. If I where making a production quality product, with my name on it, I would source my part with greater care. But I'm not, and I don't.